CRB: Plant Longevity and Life-form Diversity in Reconstructed Tropical Ecosystems

我们恢复热带生态系统和建立可持续的、有用的热带森林类似物的能力取决于我们种植生态兼容的植物群落的能力。这项研究将评估可能以互补方式利用空间和土壤资源的物种组合，使它们能够在保护土壤的同时，很好地利用潮湿热带的高潜力生产力。有三种生活型的植物(那些自我支持的植物，具有宽阔的水平展示的叶子；那些自我的植物。在哥斯达黎加的La Selva生物站，将以一种、两种或三种树种的组合种植J H.支持，具有狭窄的、直立的或拱形的叶子；以及藤本植物)和三个寿命(几个月到几十年)。花园的表现将通过测量生长、光捕获、水分利用和养分保持来评估。在生长的头两年，简单和复杂群落利用资源的效率可能会显著提高，寿命更长的植物可能会随着群落年龄的增长而表现出色。由于有害物种的入侵对维持本地生物多样性是如此重要，每个人工群落都将接受测试，以抵抗本地和外来植物的入侵。

Our ability to restore tropical ecosystems and to construct sustainable, useful analogs of tropical forests depends on our ability to grow communities of plants that are ecologically compatible. This research will evaluate mixtures of species likely to use space and soil resources in complementary ways, enabling them to take good advantage of the high potential productivity of the humid tropics while protecting the soil. Plants of three life forms (those that are self.supporting and have broad, horizontally displayed leaves; those that are self . J H.supporting, with narrow, erect or arching leaves; and vines) and three life spans (several months to many decades) will be grown in combinations of one, two, or three species at the La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica. The performance of the gardens will be evaluated by measuring growth, light capture, water use, and nutrient retention. The efficiency with which simple and complex communities use resources is likely to improve dramatically during the first two years of growth, and longer.lived plants are likely to excel as community age increases. Because invasions by unwanted species are so important to the maintenance of native biodiversity, each artificial community will be tested for resistance to invasion by native and exotic plants.